COMPARISON

Melorex vs Wave: which free-friendly tool fits a freelancer?

Name: Melorex
Brand: Melorex

Wave is popular for one reason: its accounting and invoicing are free. Melorex also has a free-forever plan, but takes an AI-first approach and adds tools Wave doesn't.

Here's an honest comparison, including where Wave is the smarter pick.

The short version

Choose Melorex if you want an AI copilot that handles invoices, expenses, and tax by sentence, keeps 0% of your payments, and gives you tax set-aside plus a daily briefing, with a free plan to start.

Choose Wave if your needs are simple, your budget is zero, and you want basic free invoicing and accounting without AI features or automatic tax set-aside.

Pricing compared

	Melorex	Wave
Free plan	Yes, free forever (5 invoices/mo, 3 clients)	Yes, free invoicing and accounting
Paid plan	$19/mo Pro (unlimited + AI features)	Wave Pro: $19/mo (or $190/yr) — adds automated bank feeds, unlimited receipt scanning, automated reminders
Payment processing	0% cut from Melorex; your own Stripe at standard Stripe rates	Wave Payments: 2.9% + $0.60 per card transaction (1% for bank payments, $1 minimum)

A fee worth double-checking: Wave Payments charges 2.9% + $0.60 per card transaction — a flat fee twice the $0.30 often quoted for card processing elsewhere. Bank payments run a separate 1% rate (minimum $1). Melorex adds no fee of its own on top of your own Stripe account's standard rate, regardless of how a client pays.

Numbers above are Melorex's and Wave's own published rates — see full Melorex pricing for exact plan details.

Feature comparison

Feature	Melorex	Wave
Free invoicing	Yes (5/mo free, unlimited on Pro)	Yes
Free basic accounting	Reports on all plans	Yes
AI command palette	Yes	No
AI statement import + auto-categorization	Yes	Manual/basic
Deduction finder	Yes	No
Automatic tax set-aside	Yes	No
Daily AI briefing	Yes	No
Contracts + e-signature	Yes	No
Multi-currency invoicing	Yes (6 currencies, live FX)	Limited
Automatic late-payment reminders	Yes	Yes (Pro tier)
Client portal, no login	Yes	Payment via invoice
Built specifically for freelancers	Yes	General small business

Where Wave is genuinely the better choice

We'll be straight: Wave is the right tool for some freelancers.

Pure budget software. If your needs are basic and your budget is $0, Wave's free invoicing and accounting cover the essentials.

Simplicity. No AI features to learn or opt out of, if that's not what you're looking for.

An established free option. Wave has been a free accounting standard for small businesses for years, with a large existing user base.

If that's all you need, Wave is a solid, free choice.

Where Melorex fits better for a freelancer

The AI does the busywork. Statement import, expense categorization, and deduction finding happen automatically instead of manual entry.

Automatic tax set-aside. Wave doesn't set aside money for tax as it comes in; Melorex does it for you.

Contracts and multi-currency, built in. Draft and e-sign contracts and invoice clients in their own currency, without a separate tool.

A daily briefing. A plain-English summary of what needs your attention, every morning.

Still free to start. No card required, and the Free plan doesn't expire.

Still free. Now with an AI copilot.

No card required. Free forever on the Free plan.

Start free

Common questions

Melorex has a free-forever plan (5 invoices/month, 3 clients, 1 currency, no card). It's not identical to Wave's free tier, but both let you start at zero cost. Melorex Pro ($19/mo) adds unlimited invoices and the AI features.

Neither takes a percentage as software. Melorex payments run through your own connected Stripe account at standard Stripe rates. Wave Payments charges 2.9% + $0.60 per card transaction — a higher flat fee than Melorex's pass-through Stripe rate — or 1% (minimum $1) for bank payments.

For the AI-native workflow, automatic tax set-aside, deduction finder, contracts/e-signature, and daily briefing — features Wave doesn't offer. If you don't need those, Wave's free tier may be all you need.

Melorex automatically sets aside a share of income for tax and flags deductions as they land. Wave tracks income and expenses but doesn't do automatic tax set-aside.